5 Tips for Staying Cool on this Summer Solstice

I wanted to breath new life into an old Facebook post on this topic, so for this Throwback Thursday, here is an updated repost!

Now that the summer months are upon us, the heat is on! Today marks the first official day of summer, known as the Summer Solstice, when the earth's rotational axis is most inclined toward the sun, resulting in the longest day of the year. 

In Chinese Medicine, the summer is associated with the Fire element and our Heart, allowing us greater access to our active, creative energy. The days are longer, gardens are blooming, and the sun is shining, which are the perfect conditions for outdoor activities, social gatherings, and enjoying the abundance of nature.

With the increase in joyful, active summer festivities, it's possible to become out of balance, experiencing issues such as sleep problems, anger/anxiety, restlessness, skin problems, heart palpitations, etc.

To avoid health challenges, here are 5 tips for staying cool and comfortable during the hot summer months:

1) Balance lively summer activities with relaxation. Set aside some time each day to relax and restore. Walk barefoot in the grass, take a nap in a hammock, catch up on some fun reading while sipping a glass of iced tea, relax by the pool, etc.

2) Drink plenty of water! Try to avoid ice cold beverages when possible (cold drinks can cause sluggish digestion). Mint tea and lemon water are great options for staying cool and hydrated.

3) Move your body and get your heart going! It's important to keep blood and energy moving during the active months to avoid stagnation. Find ways of getting exercise that feel good and don't deplete the body. Swimming is a great activity, since it is active, but also cooling. Go on a summer hike, play a round of tennis, go to the park and toss around a frisbee, etc.

4) Eat cooling foods.  Foods such as cucumber, mint, and fresh fruits/vegetables that are in season help keep the body cool, nourished, and happy. Try to eat extra bitter greens such as kale, spinach, and swiss chard. Avoid cold foods, heavy foods, too much sugar, and overeating. If you must indulge in an ice cream or cold drink, try having some ginger tea afterward to help warm the digestive system. 

5) Take time to listen to your inner voice. The Heart in Chinese Medicine is associated with our inner knowing, connecting us to a deeper level of understanding of the world. Set aside time to acknowledge your sense of intuition. Are you doing what feels good in life? If not, now is a great time to make changes.

The Balance of Exercise

(02/12/21 Disclaimer: since writing this post nearly 3 years ago, my health has greatly improved allowing me to resume regular workouts. While I do intense exercise at times, I also ensure that I’m taking significant downtime for restorative qigong, stretching, and deep breathing. I still feel that if you’re significantly low on energy or having health issues, you should NOT push through discomfort or pain. Instead, find alternatives that feel good and don’t further deplete the body!)

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I am a recovering crossfit-style workout junkie. For years I was doing burpees, pushups, planks, mountain climbers, dive bombers, you name it. I did these workouts 3-5 times a week, tracking my progress, and rarely missing a workout. I enjoyed the exercise high, as well as feeling strong. I was proud of myself for building the strength and dedication to have a strong exercise practice. What I didn't like so much was my aching back and joints. Over time, I developed chronic back and joint pain because of the exercises. 

I have always found it interesting that we seem to either under or overdo most things in life. There are the people who are sedentary, who exercise very little, and then we have the people who exercise too much, or do exercises that hurt their body. In knowing this, we should strive for balance, exercising enough, but not overdoing it. 

I eventually had to make the difficult decision to quit vigorous exercise altogether and only do qigong. My body was sending me a message and I was finally ready to listen. I think we all need to listen to our bodies and find balance, rather than the extremes. 

Since quitting and working on healing my body, I have slowly been coming back into exercise, finding more gentle moves. I have also come to appreciate that qigong and tai chi can be just as strengthening, if not more. It's easy to fixate on doing big, heavy, vigorous movements, but small, subtle, and gentle can actually be even more powerful.  Through more gentle exercises, such as qigong, there are incredible health benefits as well. By learning to circulate energy throughout the body, energy is unblocked from areas of pain and health issues begin to resolve. 

Every body is different, but for me, I had to stop all planks, burpees, pushups, heavy weights, dive bombers, and any other forceful moves that put a lot pressure on the joints.

Here is what I do these days:

1. I tend to put on happy music and just dance or move my body however feels more comfortable. Occasionally, I will drop in some lunges, squats, arm exercises, and gentle ab work. The important thing is to never feel pain. If anything starts to hurt, I immediately stop.

2. Always breathe through the nose and keep the mouth shut. See this blog post for more information. If you have to open your mouth to catch your breath, you're exercising too hard.

3. Make sure to cool down when finished by rubbing/holding lavender and peppermint, or vetiver essential oil onto Liver 3 and Liver 8 points and doing some deep breathing.

Liver 3 point on the foot, just a few finger widths below where the big toe splits

Liver 8 point is located on the inner portion of the knee near the knee crease

Another great exercise option is Callanetics, which is gentle style of exercise focusing on tiny pulse-like movements that sculpt and strengthen muscles, while re-aligning the back. Callan Pinkney, the founder, created the exercises to help heal her own back and get into shape. Eventually, the exercises caught on and she became quite famous in the 80's. While the exercises look dated amid the leotards and 80's spandex, they are quite effective, gentle, and help those with back problems.